OSERS Transition Activities, by Component2

To view the draft report, visit http://www.vrtransitionstudy.org.

1. 
   improving educational results and functional outcomes for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities; and
   
2. 
   ensuring that states meet the program requirements, particularly those most closely related to improving educational results for children with disabilities.
   

To learn about effective strategies used across the country to reduce dropout rates, and increase graduation rates and to access a variety of related documents, visit

This is a network of OSEP and OESE technical assistance centers that supports and assists state and local programs in implementing the reauthorized IDEA, including those requirements related to effective secondary transition of youth with disabilities to successful post-school outcomes.

Established in 2003, this project aims to increase rates of school completion for students with disabilities, emphasizing dropout prevention for enrolled students and re-entry into education for students who have dropped out of school.

This project will assist states, LEAs, schools and other stakeholders with developing appropriate, measurable postsecondary goals and implementing transition services that result in improved academic and functional achievement of students with disabilities and a successful transition to college (or other postsecondary education and training) and the workforce.

In collaboration with state and national partners, the project develops and implements practical, efficient, cost-effective and sustainable strategies for states to collect and use outcome data to improve secondary, transition and postsecondary school results.

The IDEA Partnership Project helps policymakers, service providers, administrators and families translate knowledge into action in a way that creates personal meaning and informs their work and interactions every day. As one aspect of its work, the project formed a Transition Community of Practice (COP), which focuses on joint efforts within states and active learning across states that allows policymakers, administrators, service providers, families and youth to address the persistent problems encountered in transition.

PTIs and CPRCs serve families of children and young adults from birth to age 22 with all disabilities. They train and inform parents and professionals; help families obtain appropriate education and services for their children with disabilities; work to improve education results for all children; resolve problems between families and schools or other agencies; and connect children with disabilities to community resources that address their needs.

For SOP technical assistance resources, visit http://www.nsttac.org.

The National High School Center serves as a central source of in-depth knowledge, expertise and analysis on high school improvement. The center is jointly funded by OSEP and OESE.

RSA monitored 23 state VR agencies in FY 2007 as authorized by Section 107 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. These agencies, their stakeholders and RSA identified promising practices unique to each of the agencies, providing samples of programs and services that promote the transition of youth with disabilities from school to employment.

For contact information, summaries of the practices and links to agency websites, visit http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/rehab/promising-practices/transition-age.

To view this report, visit

(1) Maryland Seamless Transition Collaborative;

(2) Massachusetts Transition Works;

(3) Youth Employment Services (S.C.);

(4) Project ACCESS: Accelerated Career Counseling and Employment Support Services (Ore.);

(5) Promoting Rehabilitation and Education Results through State, Regional and Local Collaboration (Ohio); and

(6) Pennsylvania Community on Transition.

(1) Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, Inc.—Transition, Independent Living, Employment, Supports (TILES) (Fla.);

(2) Next Steps (Va.);

(3) Partners in Rehabilitation and Independence in Maine;

(4) WIN-MILL (Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois) project (Ill.);

(5) Supporting Transition to Engaged Lives by Linking Agency Resources (STELLAR) (Mo.);

(6) PACER Center (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) (Minn.);

(7) SOAR! (Calif.); and

(8) PACER Center (Minn.), for the TA coordinating center.

(1) a better understanding of existing postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disabilities; and

(2) recommendations for future research designed to yield findings that will be useful in shaping federal efforts to improve access to postsecondary education as envisioned by Congress and made law in 2008 with the reauthorization of the Higher Education Opportunity Act.

For conference website, with presentations and proceedings, visit http://www.sscsid.com.

The center will develop and conduct state-of-the-art rigorous research on the education and work experiences of 14–30 year olds with disabilities and translate findings into knowledge for the field. The research will be informed by consumer and family input and be carried out in real-world settings. It will be designed to

(1) help with the rapid development of new interventions for the school-to-work transition;

(2) contribute to new knowledge about interventions for the above-mentioned population who are from disadvantaged backgrounds; and

(3) improve coordination between child and adult mental health services.

The translation of this knowledge will expedite capacity-building for service providers and the movement of findings into practice and policy.

This project incorporates research, targeted training, and dissemination while adhering to a single conceptual framework of synthesizing research to guide intervention approaches. This framework focuses on helping youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions build assets in the areas of

1. 
   self-determination and positive identity;
   
2. 
   youth- and young adult-directed decision making;
   
3. 
   skills for adult roles; and
   
4. 
   supportive relationships with peers and adults.
   

This Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) conducts research, training and technical assistance activities to study and promote effective, community-based, culturally competent, family-centered, individualized and strength-based services for children and youth with emotional or behavioral disorders and their families. Projects include

(1) Community Integration (CI) of Transition-Age Youth;
(2) Transition to Independence: Outcomes of School-Based Support for Youth with Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities;
(3) Achieve My Plan (AMP);

(4) Work-Life Integration;

(5) Transforming Transitions to Kindergarten; and

(6) Practice-Based Evidence: Building Effectiveness from the Ground Up.

This RRTC for children with disabilities who have special health care needs tests the effectiveness of two intensive interventions, which are

1. 
   integrated transition planning, and
   
2. 
   community participation in recreation and fitness.
   

This DRRP conducts a program of theory-driven research to improve employment outcomes for the Low Functioning Deaf (LFD) population. The success of the research and dissemination efforts is insured by inclusion of five state rehabilitation partners, including providers, policymakers and administrators from VR, community service agencies and school- and community-based transition programs.

This Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) promotes awareness of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended, to targeted audiences through provision of technical assistance, training and material dissemination regarding the ADA. In addition, the center engages in rigorous, research-related activities focused on the

1. 
   employment of people with disabilities; and
   
2. 
   impact that individual knowledge and experience with the utilization of technology in postsecondary education have on the employment outcomes of individuals with disabilities as they transition from postsecondary education to employment.
   

The purpose of this RRTC is to study supports for assisting persons with disabilities to maintain employment and advance their careers. Research includes two long-term prospective randomized experimental control research projects for determining

1. 
   the efficacy of public/private partnerships; and
   
2. 
   the efficacy of business mentoring and career-based interventions with college students with disabilities.
   

This research study, funded by the Mary E. Switzer Fellowship, has three project objectives, which are

1. 
   to document services provided by postsecondary campus-based disability support services (DSS) offices across the 10 federal regions;
   
2. 
   to explore faculty perspectives on the needs and impact of students with serious psychiatric disabilities; and
   
3. 
   to disseminate study findings to the fields of mental health, postsecondary education and rehabilitation counseling, using print, Web-based and presentation formats.
   

This center conducts research and disseminates information on promising practices that support individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) to access inclusive postsecondary education resulting in improved long-term independent living and employment outcomes. Additionally, the center addresses the gaps in knowledge about the participation of individuals age 13–26 with ID in postsecondary education programs by

1. 
   conducting a national survey to collect new national data from postsecondary programs that serve students with ID to identify key characteristics in areas such as recruitment, retention, college course access, and use of accommodations and promising practices of postsecondary education programs at community colleges, vocational-technical schools, and four-year colleges that currently serve students with ID, including dual enrollment programs;
   
2. 
   conducting a secondary analysis using three existing national longitudinal datasets to determine whether variations in educational, vocational, employment, and independent living outcomes for students with ID are associated with participation in different types of postsecondary education programs;
   
3. 
   compiling existing and developing new technical assistance materials, including replicable promising practices for postsecondary education institutions that are developing new or expanding existing services and programs for students with ID; and
   
4. 
   disseminating both new and existing technical assistance and informational materials in partnership with existing training and technical assistance providers, including the NIDRR research and dissemination centers, to all key stakeholders including students with ID and their families. The Institute for Community Inclusion works in collaboration with TransCen, Inc.
   

This project is designed to address the need for sustainable community-based programs for students with severe and multiple disabilities (SMD) aged 18–21 by using the college campus as a transition setting for students with SMD. It also addresses the need for SMD transition professionals to obtain skills in the areas of person-centered planning, community partnering and interagency collaboration.

VCU ASD Career Links conducts evidence-based research on VR service models for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The project is based at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and is a collaborative initiative between VCU and the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS). While the primary target population is persons with ASD, there is an emphasis on youth and young adults who are unemployed, underemployed or underserved in postsecondary education.

(FY 2008–12)

For this project, the grantee (SEDL) partners with the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at the University of Central Florida (UCF CARD) to create a knowledge translation initiative to address the growing need for improvement in vocational rehabilitation (VR) and transition services for persons with ASD. SEDL and UCF CARD conduct a multifaceted set of research activities to identify and document VR and transitional behavior management practices that are linked to employment successes for people with ASD.

type=all&criteria=h133a080007&phrase=no&rec=1896